On a recent trip to Mineral Wells we visited the Famous Mineral Water Company on N.W. 6th Street. The story of the mineral water goes back more than 100 years.

In 1877 James Lynch, his wife and nine children left the town of Denison headed west. James and his wife, Armanda, were in poor health, suffering from rheumatism. They settled in a valley tucked in the hills of Palo Pinto County.

The Lynches’ hauled water from the Brazos River to their home, some four miles away, from 1877 until the summer of 1880. Johnny Adams, a well driller, came by the ranch that year. Adams agreed to drill a well on the property for a yoke of oxen. The Lynches were all hesitant to drink the water at first, because it had a funny taste and they were afraid it might be poisoned. After sampling the water for a while, and finding it not to be harmful, the family began drinking the well water. After drinking the water for a while, a strange thing happened, Mr. and Mrs. Lynch’s rheumatism was cured, and Mr. Lynch, once frail and gaunt, began putting on some weight.

Soon neighbors began trying the water and shortly strangers were coming by the ranch inquiring about the water. Finally Mr. Lynch began selling the water for five cents a quart.

This was the start of the mineral water boom, but, where did “Crazy Water” come in? The original Crazy Well was dug by “Uncle” Billy Wiggins in 1881 and was located at the site of the present Crazy Water Retirement Hotel. The story goes that an elderly lady suffering from a form of dementia would sit by the well daily, asking passersby to draw her a pail of water. The water supposedly had some positive affects on her “illness,” and soon others began coming for the water. Originally known as the “Crazy Lady” well, the name was later shortened to the “Crazy Well.” The Crazy Water Company became the best known of the water companies.

Just after 1900, Ed Dismuke, a 40-year-old druggist from Waco, was given a death sentence from his doctors: He was advised there was no remedy for his ailing stomach and was told to prepare for his journey beyond this life. As a state-of-the-art apothecary, he refused to believe this and started a search for a cure.

Dismuke headed northwest about 100 miles to an acclaimed health resort tucked away in the beautiful Palo Pinto Mountains. Upon arriving in Mineral Wells, the pharmacist went on a drinking binge of mineral water and his ailment disappeared. He then sold his pharmacy in Waco and moved to Mineral Wells.

In 1904, Dismuke started the Famous Mineral Water Company, establishing himself as one of the town’s premier purveyors of the health-giving elixir. Being a successful pharmacist, he soon developed other products from the mineral water, including Pronto-Lax, Residuum, Dismuke’s Famous Crystals and Dismuke’s Eyebath were all outstanding successes.

From the 1900s to the 1950s, health seekers from all over the world flooded to this tiny mountain community by the thousands every year. Mineral Wells was known to be the premier Spa Resort Town in the Southern United States.

Nearly 60 years after coming to Mineral Wells, shortly before his death, Dismuke noted that his doctors in Waco had been dead for a long time. “The only thing wrong with me is old age,” he told reporters after his 97th birthday. He claimed that he had never again been treated by doctors after beginning his daily regimen of famous mineral water and Proto-Lax.

Dismuke was born March 6, 1860, in Louisiana, Mo., and died Nov. 6, 1957, at age 97 after falling and breaking his hip. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Mineral Wells.

The Famous Mineral Water Company went through several different owners after the death of Dismuke. In August 1985 the Stone family donated the Famous Mineral Water Company to the Palo Pinto Historical Foundation.

 H. F. and Charles Hickey restored and renovated the Famous Mineral Water Pavilion in 1988. The Hickey family operated the company under lease from the Historical Foundation for about five years. The Zephyr Water Company leased it in 1994 and operated it until the Historical Foundation sold the water company to the present owners, Bill and Helen Ameson and Carol and Scott Elder on October 1, 1999.

Today when you go into the Famous Mineral Water Company, the old bar is still there where you can sit and order the mineral water by the glass. We saw several people who brought in their own jugs, 1 gallon to 5 gallons, to be filled in the store.

You may also purchase already-bottled water right off the shelf. It comes in the following sizes: .5 liter, 1 liter, 1 gallon, 3 gallons, 5 gallons plastic containers and 750ml glass. The 1 liter may be purchased by the case of 12.

On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. the Mineral Wells Area Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the 31st annual Crazy Water Festival in downtown Mineral Wells. The festival activities take place around the property of the Famous Mineral Water Company, home of Crazy Water, at 209 N.W. Sixth Street. Features include live music, vendors, a children’s area and more.

For more information, visit www.crazywaterfestival.org.



John Watson is a Cleburne resident who can be reached at texastraveler@sbcglobal.net.